Singer-songwriter Paul Davis has died from a heart attack at the age of 60. The musician passed away yesterday at the Rush Foundation Hospital in his home town of Meridian, Mississippi. Probably most famous for his soft rock ballad 'I Go Crazy', which spent weeks in the US charts in 1977/78, Davis had a long and varied career in which he explored genres as diverse as soul, country and pop.
Born and raised in Meridian, he began his career in the sixties as a member of a local group, Six Soul Survivors, and later another group, Endless Chain. He also worked for Malaco Records in Jackson (also in Mississippi) alongside songwriting partner George Soule. At the end of the decade, he was signed as a solo artist to Bang Records, and released his first album, 'A Little Bit Of Paul Davis', in 1970. His first major hit, however, was the aforementioned single 'I Go Crazy', some years later. Subsequent hits included '65 Love Affair', 'Cool Night', Marie Osmond duet 'You're Still New To Me' and Tanya Tucker collaboration 'I Won't Take Less Than Your Love'.
Tommy Couch, president of Malaco Records, has paid tribute to the artist, telling reporters: "He was a super, super talented commercial songwriter and artist. Anytime you go in a big box store like Best Buy, you hear his songs playing some 25 years later". He added that "he was sort of a private person. Nobody has really heard from him lately".
His cousin James Edwards confirmed that Davis had returned to Meridian to retire, following moves to Jackson and New York during the course of his career. "He was living life at the slow pace that suited him" Edwards said "He was doing a lot of fishing. I'm still getting calls from family trying to figure out how we're going to handle the memorial."